Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread

[Dr Positivity]

My draft board

1. Kyrie Irving
2. Perry Jones II
3. Harrison Barnes
4. Enes Kanter
5. Jonas Valanciunas
6. Jan Vesely
7. Terrence Jones
8. John Henson
9. Kemba Walker
10. Chris Singleton

[fredericklove]

Anyone who has Kemba Walker in their top 5 (or even top 10) is simply clueless.

Top 5, no but top 10 he could.

Perry Jones
Harrison Barnes
Jared Sullinger
Terrence Jones
Enes Kanter
Brandon Knight
Donatas Motiejunas/Jonas Valanciunas/Jan Vesely
Josh Selby

Kemba's 30 points average per game is high enough for teams to take him early, he can squeeze in there somewhere in the bottom of top 10 list because I don't think Donatas Motiejunas/Jonas Valanciunas/Jan Vesely can be drafted as high as top 5, one or two of them can end up after top 10.

[fredericklove]

For me, it's Kyrie Irving, Jared Sullinger, Harrison Barnes, Enes Kanter, and Jonas Valanciunas. But, it's more like:

Kyrie Irving










Everybody else lol

I hope Irving can get back for the NCAA tournament. If BC wants to win next season, or whenever we get back from the lockout, Irving is the guy to aim for imo.

Basically










we have to win the number one pick

[Saciid11]

Kemba Walker is going to be a better version of Ty Lawson...

Which is what Tim Hardway or Kevin Johnsson...

[fredericklove]

^^ do you know if Vesely is particularly good at handling/creating with the ball?

Same here, he seems to be a high-flyer Chris Anderson type, with CHRIS ANDERSON'S handle.

[redred9]

^^ do you know if Vesely is particularly good at handling/creating with the ball?

Same here, he seems to be a high-flyer Chris Anderson type, with CHRIS ANDERSON'S handle.

Yeah, I've seen him play. Vesely would look great here in terms of the young athleticism we have- we'd definately have no more energy or hustle problems with Davis, Demar, Amir etc. but Vesely/Derozan/Klieza at the swing spots would be shockingly bad at ever creating anything.

If we draft Vesely, BC better have some plans to get Rubio (or any creative pg) here along with him.

[fredericklove]

^^ do you know if Vesely is particularly good at handling/creating with the ball?

Same here, he seems to be a high-flyer Chris Anderson type, with CHRIS ANDERSON'S handle.

Yeah, I've seen him play. Vesely would look great here in terms of the young athleticism we have- we'd definately have no more energy or hustle problems with Davis, Demar, Amir etc. but Vesely/Derozan/Klieza at the swing spots would be shockingly bad at ever creating anything.

If we draft Vesely, BC better have some plans to get Rubio (or any creative pg) here along with him.

If we draft Vesely, I'll go hang myself

[fredericklove]

Did y'all watch Barnes played tonight? He really sucks a-hole, after 10 or 11 games he still can't drive by people, can't create his own shots, critics said he'll improve, give him time, it's still too early, FK it's already half way through the season. I wouldn't take him if I had 2nd or 3rd pick.

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

Barnes, at this point in time, does not look like he's ready for the NBA. Maybe, it'll change as the season continues to progress. He's playing right now a lot like DeRozan did back when he was a freshman. And all it took was a good PAC-10 tourney for DeMar to re-establish his stock.

[jman3134]

Did y'all watch Barnes played tonight? He really sucks a-hole, after 10 or 11 games he still can't drive by people, can't create his own shots, critics said he'll improve, give him time, it's still too early, FK it's already half way through the season. I wouldn't take him if I had 2nd or 3rd pick.

Of all people, I agree with your assessment that Barnes was severely overrated. I have been saying this since he was in high school. But, I did not believe that Barnes was all that bad against Rutgers. As you said, he still could not get past his man attacking the basket. But, he demonstrated an ability to hit from beyond the arc, nailing a step back NBA range three. I was impressed by his shooting ability, which may be getting better as the season progresses. All in all, this game was not a complete failure, especially since Roy was subbing him in and out because it was a blowout.

[HomieOmey]

The more I hear/read about this draft, the last I like. From Ford on Barnes being a "disappointment:'

There are very few sure things Jim. Barnes hasn't played like a No. 1 pick ... but who has that also has the physical upside NBA teams are looking for. Kyrie Irving was the closest, but he's now out with an injury. Perry Jones, Terrence Jones, Josh Selby, John Henson all huge upsides, but risks. Kemba Walker, Derrick Williams, Sullinger, Marcus Morris more sure things, but lack great upsides at their positions. Most teams looking for both high in the draft. This draft not giving them a lot of hope.

Sounding more and more like the draft where we selected Bargnani. Even if we keep the pick this year, a draft day trade could make a lot of sense for us.

[just23]

I'm usually opposed to trading picks, but this is one year where it should at least be considered. Irving looks like the only legit star and he's injured. Kanter and Donatus both look like solid starters, but not all stars. If we land a top 3 pick and Irving is not available then using the pick as trade bait should be looked at. But I'd still be okay with us just using the pick on any one of several guys who should be available. Kanter, Donatus, Jones, Walker etc... Just not Jan Vesley. He looks like garbage.

[dagger]

If we draft Vesely, I'll go hang myself

I'll pay $5 to watch that. Better still, I think it would make unique half time entertainment at a Raps game. A hanging is much better than watching a bunch of eight year olds in white T shirts play basketball.

[Indeed]

Didn't watch much of the NCAA, and neither know a lot of those players, but by some unreliable scouting reports. Here is my wish list:

1. Irving - star
2. P Jones - star
3. T jones - starter
4. Barnes - starter
5. Valuncianus - starter
6. Kanter - starter
7. Vesley - role (worst case to draft imo)
8. Leslie - role

Miami pick (26 - before: Lakers, San Antonio, Dallas, Boston)
- if we drafted a PG/SF, then we look for a C
- If we drafted a C, then we look for a PG/SF
- trade the pick

[Saciid11]

Didn't watch much of the NCAA, and neither know a lot of those players, but by some unreliable scouting reports. Here is my wish list:

1. Irving - star
2. P Jones - star
3. T jones - starter
4. Barnes - starter
5. Valuncianus - starter
6. Kanter - starter
7. Vesley - role (worst case to draft imo)
8. Leslie - role

Miami pick (26 - before: Lake.rs, San Antonio, Dallas, Boston)
- if we drafted a PG/SF, then we look for a C
- If we drafted a C, then we look for a PG/SF
- trade the pick

Irving is the only superstar in this draft, I think after irving you have few guys with All-star potential like Perry Jones, Kemba Walker, Sullinger, and Kanter ( High BBIQ, body, low gravity should make him great rebounder and low post scorer) .... This draft is allot like 2006 if you exclude Irving who is the only legit #1... If Raps end up with the #1 and irving is not their, I want us to trade down instead of wastin the #1 pick on Perry who is high risk/high reward guy...

[So Clutch]

We need to start an automated form in this thread, to save people some time. Probably look something like this:

I have watched no NCAA games, and if I have, it is certainly not enough to make sound judgments about any the players I will pretend to assess later in my post. I have, however, read the very accurate player comparisons on NBADraft.net and read all generalizations and assumptions other posters have been writing about these players.

Despite the limited knowledge about these players, I will still proceed to rank these players with commentary that continues to perpetuate generalizations and assumptions about these players based on their NBADraft.net player comparisons, 1-2 YouTube mixes I have seen, and their race/ethnicity:

1. _______
2. _______
3. _______
...

_______ are players that I do not want, based on above described biases. If we draft this player I will [select from following list]:
a) hang myself
b) threaten to quit being a Raptors fan
c) some **** about Ricky Rubio

[just23]

We need to start an automated form in this thread, to save people some time. Probably look something like this:

I have watched no NCAA games, and if I have, it is certainly not enough to make sound judgments about any the players I will pretend to assess later in my post. I have, however, read the very accurate player comparisons on NBADraft.net and read all generalizations and assumptions other posters have been writing about these players.

Despite the limited knowledge about these players, I will still proceed to rank these players with commentary that continues to perpetuate generalizations and assumptions about these players based on their NBADraft.net player comparisons, 1-2 YouTube mixes I have seen, and their race/ethnicity:

1. _______
2. _______
3. _______
...

_______ are players that I do not want, based on above described biases. If we draft this player I will [select from following list]:
a) hang myself
b) threaten to quit being a Raptors fan
c) some **** about Ricky Rubio

Haha. You're right, we have too many stock comments. Unfortunately, most of us don't see a lot of the college guys until March and since we know we need a point guard we keep mentioning Rubio. However, I don't think it's very likely we'll ever make a deal for him. Minnesota wants to keep him, so we should all move on, unless we suddenly have some amazing assets they'd actually be interested in. I will say that highlight reels are worth watching. It isn't so much about what they show as what they don't. For example, Andrea's highlight reel before he was drafted showed him doing nothing except running and shooting 3s. Not a single rebound or blocked shot in there, which certainly wasn't a coincidence. Harrison Barnes never looked very athletic in his high-school reels and as it turns out he is not an elite athlete by any means in the NCAA. Derozan's youtube stuff showed absolutely no handles and no creativity. I think youtube videos are actually a very good source of info for picks, but only if you look at them the right way. Don't get too focused on what you do see. Instead keep an eye out for what you don't.

[fredericklove]

We need to start an automated form in this thread, to save people some time. Probably look something like this:

I have watched no NCAA games, and if I have, it is certainly not enough to make sound judgments about any the players I will pretend to assess later in my post. I have, however, read the very accurate player comparisons on NBADraft.net and read all generalizations and assumptions other posters have been writing about these players.

Despite the limited knowledge about these players, I will still proceed to rank these players with commentary that continues to perpetuate generalizations and assumptions about these players based on their NBADraft.net player comparisons, 1-2 YouTube mixes I have seen, and their race/ethnicity:

1. _______
2. _______
3. _______
...

_______ are players that I do not want, based on above described biases. If we draft this player I will [select from following list]:
a) hang myself
b) threaten to quit being a Raptors fan
c) some **** about Ricky Rubio

Haha. You're right, we have too many stock comments. Unfortunately, most of us don't see a lot of the college guys until March and since we know we need a point guard we keep mentioning Rubio. However, I don't think it's very likely we'll ever make a deal for him. Minnesota wants to keep him, so we should all move on, unless we suddenly have some amazing assets they'd actually be interested in. I will say that highlight reels are worth watching. It isn't so much about what they show as what they don't. For example, Andrea's highlight reel before he was drafted showed him doing nothing except running and shooting 3s. Not a single rebound or blocked shot in there, which certainly wasn't a coincidence. Harrison Barnes never looked very athletic in his high-school reels and as it turns out he is not an elite athlete by any means in the NCAA. Derozan's youtube stuff showed absolutely no handles and no creativity. I think youtube videos are actually a very good source of info for picks, but only if you look at them the right way. Don't get too focused on what you do see. Instead keep an eye out for what you don't.

If Barnes was athletic, he prolly would blow by using his quickness and strength and lays it in easily or dunk it. He wouldn't be just averaging 12 points right now, prolly 17-18.

There's another scenario where Wolves might offer Rubio. If they win the number one pick, Kahn picks Irving, he'll have Rubio as trading bait. I'm pretty sure any team would be willing to offer something for Rubio.

[Ackshun]

I'm waiting for Brandon Knight's assist/ratio to get better. 1/1 is not cutting it, but this guy has so much potential.

[SkywalkerAC]

I have to watch more of Knight. I wonder where his defensive potential really stands. Right now he strikes me as a Derek Fisher type that might be a damn fine Alvin Williams protege.

And could you imagine if Barnes drops to us. He's having his issues but you know he's going to be a good pro. He strikes me as a Ray Allen type from the 3 spot. Kleiza and Barnes at the 3 would be nice. Combine that with AB's stretch factor and you've got nothing but space for a dribble-drive point guard.